Melrose Park Public Safety

I see that Phil Schwartz hasn't changed one bit since the Elmwood Park ESDA way back in the 1970s. Ah yes! Bow down and kiss his feet and you are OK. beyond that watch your step. I remember him at a restaurant snapping his fingers for the waitress until one day she poured a whole glass of water on his head! Yes, nothing has changed except maybe daddy's money! I LOVE the honest comments. I do miss some of the guys that were really nice that we worked with in Elmwood Park ESDA and the crew of the fire department back then. <They couldn't stand Phil either> . This is actually where I had gotten my 30 year start working with EMS with the help of the chief of the fire department, Chief Ozzy Jelium <sp> who paid for my EMT training at Loyola Hospital in Maywood, IL. back in 1977.

I had the opportunity to help with the Taste of Melrose serving with the Melrose Park Public Safety / Homeland Security squad. Chief Schwartz ,Deputy Chief Schwartz, and Lt McMahon were all very supportive. I was impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the entire squad. The cooperation between other public safety organizations and local police made me feel like I was part of a well organized team. It is tough work and requires a commitment in time and effort. I would not hesitate to volunteer again.

"Chief" Phil Schwartz is on a perpetual power trip. He likes to organize the place with an enormous hierarchy of ranks which mean nothing since everyone is a volunteer. They have "station nights" where everyone is supposed to come in and work (i.e. mopping, cleaning toilets) even when there is nothing that needs to be done, and no training planned. Everyone here takes themselves way too seriously (until their eyes open and they quit). They expect people to leave their full-time jobs and run into the station when weather hits. They don't treat volunteers like valued assets; they act like somehow they're doing the volunteers a favor by allowing them to work for free. Bottom line...if you want to go into emergency management as a career go ahead and apply here. Just expect to be used, not enriched. (You're better off taking as many free FEMA courses as you can.) If you just want to volunteer for the community, there are tons of better ways to do it.

A joke. A horrible, time wasting joke.

Horrible, until it gets new management, volunteer elsewhere.

Awful place. I tried getting volunteer experience for my resume, little did I know that the little mob that runs this place just loves making you feel like this is a job! Your volunteering for Christ sake! And talk about experience, all I have to speak for after a year there is wasted time, dressing up as a firefighter, and wasting time in there little uniforms. Don't even mention the joke Phil. That guy can't be taken seriously elsewhere so he parades around MPPS as if he were the president and you were his servant.

Probably the worst place to volunteer at in your life. If your looking to literally waste your time then go to MPPS. It is run by morons who don't know what they are doing. This place is a revolving door. "Chief" Phil Schwartz loves taking advantage of those who feel like giving back to the community, making them work long unpaid hours, without even so much as a thank you. None of the management care about you lending your time to them, well all besides one. PLEASE stay away.

Because when in school to work in the health field why not get a headstart into your career by volunteer work being done and getting use to the field that would like to pursue your life in.